Reflections On the Cultural War Against Democracy, Families, Working Class Americans, Life Liberty & the Pursuit Of Happiness, Education, Civility, Truth, Justice, And Mothers & Daughters Of The Living Planet We Call Earth.
Every soul requires comfort now and then. But not every soul knows the torment of the Uncomforted Soul. Still, the uncertainty of any significant purpose of our individual human life and the possibility of the eternal existence of our immortal soul commands the attention of all of us at one time or another. Consider Henry, child of God.
"I have experienced my share of happiness and disappointment in my life. I have wished for more of the former and less of the latter. On balance I have done okay. I get into trouble only when I choose to compare the successes and the accomplishments of my life with that of other people. Of course there are always others who have more, have done more, and have accomplished more. But it is more than that.
"I am acutely aware of what greed, poverty, violence, rape, conflict, injustice, war, and slavery can do to the human spirit and to the human body. But, I haven't felt the full brunt of any of those.
"I have been poor, but I have not known poverty. Long ago my draft board drafted me to fignt in an unpopular war, but I received a deferment because I was married and had children. Slavery and Jim Crow racism is just a bad memory etched into my angry brain by stories and account from others who were closer to it.
"But all of those demons are still present on this planet. I feel anger and pain when I try to come to grips with what men do to other human beings. Consequently, many of my moments of unhappiness and disappointment occur when I struggle with my desire to rid the world of war, rape, slavery, injustice, incivility, poverty, and bigotry and am forced to come face to face with the fact that I am powerless to do anything about it in a significant way.
"I don't always blame God for letting it happen, but I struggle with the concept. I wish He had done better. All I know is that the years I have left on Earth are important to me. And I would like to spend them helping out as much as I can and being as happy as I can be in spite of the turmoil around me and in so many other places on the Earth.
"But I know I will die. And sometimes I struggle with what will happen to my eternal soul when I leave this body.
"I was raised a Christian and I have tried to be a good Christian. But even here, the specter of injustice, hypocrisy, conflict, tension, incivility, and ambiguity is increasingly present and it twists me out of shape.
I look at what professed Christians did to the original Americans, the ones we call Indians or Native Americans when we are trying to be politically correct. Professed Christians were too willing to kill Native Americans for their land, and put them on Indian Reservations to keep them out of sight and out of mind.
"If I want to be a good Christian, I must be committed to being like The Christ. Nothing else matters. I must embrace a Christianity that reflects what The Christ taught. Otherwise, what am I except what Jesus Christ despised--a viper and a hypocrite.
"In the final analysis I realize that what I must do is trust God. I have to believe that if I do right by God and do right by other human beings that in the end God will take care of me.
"But eternity is a long time and the thought of experiencing the passing of time through eternity can be daunting. And that's where I have to trust God, knowing that He will do something with our concept of time so that it will not be a problem for us.
"Sometimes I think, 'suppose heaven is a black hole', where, as I understand it, time virtually stands still and a million years is like one day or maybe one minute.
"But I really don't have to worry about that, do I? For God will take care of me. Won't He?"
By Bennie Wiley
For Women and Men Who Care About Women
Comments
Suppose Heaven Is A Black Hole
Every soul requires comfort now and then. But not every soul knows the torment of the Uncomforted Soul. Still, the uncertainty of any significant purpose of our individual human life and the possibility of the eternal existence of our immortal soul commands the attention of all of us at one time or another. Consider Henry, child of God.
"I have experienced my share of happiness and disappointment in my life. I have wished for more of the former and less of the latter. On balance I have done okay. I get into trouble only when I choose to compare the successes and the accomplishments of my life with that of other people. Of course there are always others who have more, have done more, and have accomplished more. But it is more than that.
"I am acutely aware of what greed, poverty, violence, rape, conflict, injustice, war, and slavery can do to the human spirit and to the human body. But, I haven't felt the full brunt of any of those.
"I have been poor, but I have not known poverty. Long ago my draft board drafted me to fignt in an unpopular war, but I received a deferment because I was married and had children. Slavery and Jim Crow racism is just a bad memory etched into my angry brain by stories and account from others who were closer to it.
"But all of those demons are still present on this planet. I feel anger and pain when I try to come to grips with what men do to other human beings. Consequently, many of my moments of unhappiness and disappointment occur when I struggle with my desire to rid the world of war, rape, slavery, injustice, incivility, poverty, and bigotry and am forced to come face to face with the fact that I am powerless to do anything about it in a significant way.
"I don't always blame God for letting it happen, but I struggle with the concept. I wish He had done better. All I know is that the years I have left on Earth are important to me. And I would like to spend them helping out as much as I can and being as happy as I can be in spite of the turmoil around me and in so many other places on the Earth.
"But I know I will die. And sometimes I struggle with what will happen to my eternal soul when I leave this body.
"I was raised a Christian and I have tried to be a good Christian. But even here, the specter of injustice, hypocrisy, conflict, tension, incivility, and ambiguity is increasingly present and it twists me out of shape.
I look at what professed Christians did to the original Americans, the ones we call Indians or Native Americans when we are trying to be politically correct. Professed Christians were too willing to kill Native Americans for their land, and put them on Indian Reservations to keep them out of sight and out of mind.
"If I want to be a good Christian, I must be committed to being like The Christ. Nothing else matters. I must embrace a Christianity that reflects what The Christ taught. Otherwise, what am I except what Jesus Christ despised--a viper and a hypocrite.
"In the final analysis I realize that what I must do is trust God. I have to believe that if I do right by God and do right by other human beings that in the end God will take care of me.
"But eternity is a long time and the thought of experiencing the passing of time through eternity can be daunting. And that's where I have to trust God, knowing that He will do something with our concept of time so that it will not be a problem for us.
"Sometimes I think, 'suppose heaven is a black hole', where, as I understand it, time virtually stands still and a million years is like one day or maybe one minute.
"But I really don't have to worry about that, do I? For God will take care of me. Won't He?"
Suppose Heaven Is A Black Hole
Every soul requires comfort now and then. But not every soul knows the torment of the Uncomforted Soul. Still, the uncertainty of any significant purpose of our individual human life and the possibility of the eternal existence of our immortal soul commands the attention of all of us at one time or another. Consider Henry, child of God.
"I have experienced my share of happiness and disappointment in my life. I have wished for more of the former and less of the latter. On balance I have done okay. I get into trouble only when I choose to compare the successes and the accomplishments of my life with that of other people. Of course there are always others who have more, have done more, and have accomplished more. But it is more than that.
"I am acutely aware of what greed, poverty, violence, rape, conflict, injustice, war, and slavery can do to the human spirit and to the human body. But, I haven't felt the full brunt of any of those.
"I have been poor, but I have not known poverty. Long ago my draft board drafted me to fignt in an unpopular war, but I received a deferment because I was married and had children. Slavery and Jim Crow racism is just a bad memory etched into my angry brain by stories and account from others who were closer to it.
"But all of those demons are still present on this planet. I feel anger and pain when I try to come to grips with what men do to other human beings. Consequently, many of my moments of unhappiness and disappointment occur when I struggle with my desire to rid the world of war, rape, slavery, injustice, incivility, poverty, and bigotry and am forced to come face to face with the fact that I am powerless to do anything about it in a significant way.
"I don't always blame God for letting it happen, but I struggle with the concept. I wish He had done better. All I know is that the years I have left on Earth are important to me. And I would like to spend them helping out as much as I can and being as happy as I can be in spite of the turmoil around me and in so many other places on the Earth.
"But I know I will die. And sometimes I struggle with what will happen to my eternal soul when I leave this body.
"I was raised a Christian and I have tried to be a good Christian. But even here, the specter of injustice, hypocrisy, conflict, tension, incivility, and ambiguity is increasingly present and it twists me out of shape.
I look at what professed Christians did to the original Americans, the ones we call Indians or Native Americans when we are trying to be politically correct. Professed Christians were too willing to kill Native Americans for their land, and put them on Indian Reservations to keep them out of sight and out of mind.
"If I want to be a good Christian, I must be committed to being like The Christ. Nothing else matters. I must embrace a Christianity that reflects what The Christ taught. Otherwise, what am I except what Jesus Christ despised--a viper and a hypocrite.
"In the final analysis I realize that what I must do is trust God. I have to believe that if I do right by God and do right by other human beings that in the end God will take care of me.
"But eternity is a long time and the thought of experiencing the passing of time through eternity can be daunting. And that's where I have to trust God, knowing that He will do something with our concept of time so that it will not be a problem for us.
"Sometimes I think, 'suppose heaven is a black hole', where, as I understand it, time virtually stands still and a million years is like one day or maybe one minute.
"But I really don't have to worry about that, do I? For God will take care of me. Won't He?"
Tags: black hole, blog, child of God, christ, christian, christianity, earth, eternity, God, heaven, Henry, indian reservations, injustice, Jim Crow, native americans, poverty, poverty, rape, slavery
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